A San Clemente-based medical laser maker has reached into Eastern Europe with help from a private equity firm in Los Angeles.
Technology4Medicine LLC and the Gores Group said earlier this month that they acquired Fotona D.D., a Ljubljana, Slovenia-based maker of medical laser devices.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Gores Group is headed by billionaire financier Alec Gores and has about $3.6 billion in assets under management. The firm invested in the Fotona deal through its Small Capitalization Partners fund.
“With the formation of the partnership between Fotona, Technology4Medicine and the Gores Group, Fotona will be stronger and have more resources to access the global market,” said Jeffrey Jones, T4M’s president.
Jones is a former chief executive of Irvine-based dental laser maker Biolase Inc. He is set to be chief executive of the combined T4M and Fotona business.
Fotona’s current chief executive, Dr. Matjaž Lukač, will take on another role at the company, which has been in business since 1964.
T4M’s products include the 1064XLase, used in dentistry. The acquisition of Fotona brings it into new markets, including aesthetics and gynecology, according to Jones.
Fotona sells its products primarily in Europe, Asia and Latin America. It has some products approved by the Food and Drug Administration for U.S. sales.
T4M brought the Fotona deal to Gores Group.
“I was always impressed with the company and followed them quite closely,” Jones said of Fotona.
Gores Group is “impressed with Fotona’s vision and technical capabilities, and we will support the business with financial resources,” Victor Otley III, a managing director of the private equity firm, said in a news release.
Jones said T4M was among a field of qualified bidders selected by Fotona.
“We were fortunate enough that we were selected as the final selection to be the buyer,” Jones said.
T4M does not disclose revenue or employment numbers. Jones said the company would be adding salespeople as it seeks to build Fotona’s business in the U.S., as well as using distributors.
Fotona competes with Biolase and several other companies, including Israel-based Syneron Medical Ltd. and Westford, Mass.-based Cynosure Inc., with various products. Fotona is best-known for its aesthetic laser market, which includes uses such as tattoo removal and treatments of conditions such as “spider veins.”
Jones estimates that the aesthetic laser market alone is worth more than $1 billion.
“Fotona is a very well-known medical laser company,” he said. “When you get into the world of something such as medical lasers, it’s actually a very small world. If you go to an [industry meeting] in Paris, Tokyo, New York and the subject is medical lasers, you’re going to see quite a few of the same people.”
T4M was founded in 2008 by a group of former senior executives at Biolase, including Jones.
“We gained extensive experience and a deep understanding of the unique clinical
and business needs of the dental commun-ity,” Jones said at the time the company started.
Technology4Medicine was established to introduce “a broad range of advanced technology and laser-based products focused on enhancing efficiency, the quality of clinical care, the patient experience and the bottom line of dental practices,” said Keith Bateman, the company’s executive vice president. Bateman worked with Jones at Biolase.
Jones served as Biolase’s chief executive on two occasions. His first stint ran from 1998 to 2004, and his second was from May 2006 to November 2007.
He was Biolase’s chief technology officer during his break from the chief executive post.
Biolase recently filed a lawsuit charging both T4M and Fotona with false advertising. The claim, which seeks damages and injunctive relief, takes issue with comments made about Biolase’s products, technology and management.
